The approval rating of Greece's socialist government fell in June with most Greeks expecting the economy to worsen as a result of austerity policies to deal with the country's debt crisis, an opinion poll showed on Friday, according to Reuters. The poll, conducted by Public Issue between June 2 and 7 for Kathimerini newspaper, showed the ruling socialists' approval ratings falling to 18 percent in June from 22 percent in May, although they were still ahead of the conservative opposition. Greece is scrambling to shore up its public finances and meet tough fiscal targets agreed with the IMF and its euro zone partners in exchange for a 110 billion euro ($133 billion) emergency funding package. The poll showed that 69 percent of respondents expect the economy to deteriorate and 81 percent believe labour strikes will intensify. "Worries on the course of the country, pessimism on the economy's prospects and an obvious mistrust of the way democracy functions in Greece are clouding the social landscape," the paper said. Markets are closely watching public reaction to the wage cuts and tax rises imposed by the socialist government, waiting to see whether the authorities will resist pressure to water down its reforms, including those of the country's ailing pension system. The poll showed the ruling socialists would get 45 percent of the vote if elections were held, with the conservative opposition on 27 percent, both unchanged from May. The popularity of Prime Minister George Papandreou was steady at 53 percent.
